Chapter Twenty-four
Zane’s Tavern advertised itself as the Aspen bar for locals. The interior was slightly cheesy, with posters on the wall, and a bar lined with unmatched glasses. There was a large-screen television and a small stage for karaoke.
The prices on the menu were lower than at the restaurants at the Aspen Inn or the Limelight, and the selections included the kinds of things tourists who were watching their weight avoided. Mozzarella sticks and mac ’n’ cheese egg rolls. A Zane’s burger that sounded delicious—a bacon burger with sautéed onions and mushrooms.
Caroline sat at a table in the back. Daphne sat beside her and Luke was at the bar, getting their third round of drinks. Caroline had already drunk more than she felt comfortable with—but Daphne and Luke insisted she enter the karaoke contest and she needed the alcohol for courage.
“I don’t know if I can get up there,” Caroline said, eyeing the stage.
“Luke and I are going to do it, you promised you would too,” Daphne reminded her. “It will be fun. We only have a couple more nights in Aspen.”
Caroline gulped. Tonight was New Year’s Eve. At seven o’clock she’d meet Anne’s lover in front of Santa’s Little Red Mailbox. What if he didn’t show up, or for some reason they missed each other? Her trip would have been for nothing. And then there was Max. He still hadn’t called or texted.
“You’re going to be a bride so soon.” Caroline changed the subject.
Daphne’s eyes sparkled in the low light of the bar.
“It feels like when we were kids, and I’d start wishing it was next Christmas as soon as Christmas was over. This time I don’t have to wait a whole year, the wedding is on New Year’s Day!”
“You’re going to be beautiful. I can’t wait for Luke to see the wedding dress.”
Daphne gave a small laugh. “He keeps asking me to model it for him, I told him absolutely not. I hope he likes it.” She bit her lip. “I bought him a groom’s gift, a pair of Western boots to remind him of our time in Aspen.”
Daphne prattled on about the wedding, and Caroline tried to listen. But her mind kept going to Max. Would he really let her go back to New York without contacting her?
“We mustn’t be good company. You look too pensive for someone at a Western dive bar on New Year’s Eve.” Luke grinned at Caroline when he joined them. He set three glasses and a basket of chicken wings on the table.
Caroline brought her mind back to the present.
“It’s Daphne’s fault. She insists I do karaoke.”
“That’s why we’re here,” Luke said. “The winner gets a six-foot cheesesteak hoagie to share.”
Caroline took a sip of her cocktail. It was so strong, her throat burned.
“What is this?” she asked Luke.
“The bartender recommended it. He calls it ‘the Whistle Pig.’ Aspen rye whiskey with orange juice and calvados syrup. The syrup is supposed to hide the potency of the whiskey.”
“It’s not doing a good job,” Caroline groaned.
She felt slightly better. She thought about her job and the publishing house. She was confident that Claudia would love Nick’s book. When Caroline returned to New York, she’d swear off love and go back to her little flings. In a few months Max would be a pleasant memory of Christmas in Aspen.
The first few singers got up onstage, and then it was Caroline’s turn.
Caroline had signed up to sing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Caroline and Daphne and Anne used to watch Mariah Carey’s Christmas special together at the cabin. Anne rarely watched television, but she enjoyed doing anything with Caroline and Daphne.
The Whistle Pig calmed her nerves and she belted out the first few verses. Then the door opened and a man entered. He walked to the bar and Caroline saw his face. It was Max. He wore a suede jacket and heavy winter boots.
She glanced around for the emcee. She wanted to finish the song early and give back the microphone. But he was moving around the audience. The music finally ended. The lights came on and everyone applauded.
“You deserve another Whiskey Pig for that,” Luke said when she returned to the table.
Daphne smiled at Caroline. “Luke was right, you were fantastic.”
Suddenly she couldn’t take it anymore. The room began to spin, and she felt dizzy. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and grabbed her jacket.
“I’m sorry, I need some air.”
Outside, the air was bitter cold. A few trucks were parked in the parking lot, and snow was piled against a wall.
The bar door opened and a man walked outside. It took a moment for her to realize it was Max. She couldn’t let him see how she felt.
“If you came out here to tell me I can’t sing, I already know.” She kept her voice light. “Luke and Daphne made me enter the karaoke contest.”
“You were great.” Max’s easy tone matched her own. “In fact, I have secret information that you’re going to win. I’m jealous. Sam makes the best cheesesteak hoagie in the Rockies.”
Caroline smiled in spite of herself. Just standing beside Max made her happy.
“Is Sam the chef?” she asked.
“He’s also in charge of the bar purchases,” Max said. “I came tonight because he started selling my rye whiskey.”
Caroline let out a moan. “Don’t tell me you’re responsible for the Whistle Pig. It’s so strong, my mouth was on fire.”
“Blame Sam, he has a heavy hand with alcohol.” Max grinned. His voice dropped. “Lily made me come. I’m glad I did. It was nice to see you let your hair down.”
“You saw Lily?” Caroline asked.
“I slept at the distillery last night,” Max said. “But there’s only so long a guy can exist without a hot shower and a fridge filled with something besides the ingredients for rye whiskey cocktail recipes.”
“You’ll never attract customers to the distillery if you only serve celery garnishes and olives on the end of toothpicks,” Caroline agreed with a laugh.
“I was going to work on the food menu but I couldn’t concentrate,” Max admitted. “Today, my ankle finally felt a little better, so I went for a little walk. Then I went home and Lily said she told you that I had done a code three.”
Caroline couldn’t decipher Max’s expression. Caroline thought about other times recently when she needed courage. When the nurse called from the hospital and told Caroline to come right away, Anne was dying. At her mother’s funeral, when she had to smile and hug people. The other mourners meant well, but all Caroline wanted was to crawl into bed with Daphne and cry. Driving up to the cabin the first time after Anne died, knowing Anne wouldn’t be there, waiting for her.
She needed that courage now to tell Max how she felt about him.
“Lily said I couldn’t disturb a code three, you had to come back by yourself.” Caroline’s voice was slow and deliberate. “If I had found you, I would have apologized for asking you to leave the other night. It was my fault. The evening was going so well, and I pushed you away.”
“You said you wanted a fling,” Max said. “A hot Christmas romance with no strings attached. But every time we got closer to ending up in bed, you pulled away. I still don’t understand.”
“Is that all you wanted?” Caroline asked.
“We’re not talking about me.” Max’s voice turned harder. “What does it matter what I wanted if you’re not interested anymore?”
Caroline nodded. It made sense that Max was upset.
“I was certain I only wanted a fling. And you were the same. When we met, you said women don’t understand how much effort went into running the distillery.”
“But I never closed myself off to love,” Max returned. “You and I are different that way. I want to be in love, it’s the best part of life.”
Caroline took a deep breath. This was her last chance.
“Apparently, we aren’t that different. The reason I pushed you away is I discovered I didn’t want a fling after all. For the first time, I wanted something with a future. I started falling in love with you and I didn’t know how to tell you.”
Max let out a whistle. “It’s pretty easy. You say it like this: I’m falling for you, Caroline. You’re beautiful and smart and kind. You put your sister before yourself, and you’re warm and gracious to my mother and Lily. This might not be the right time, but it probably never is with love. The important thing is to give love a chance.”
Caroline waited before she responded. Her heart beat faster and she gazed at Max.
“Is that how you feel?” she finally whispered.
“I’ve been trying to tell you for days. You never seemed to listen. When you pulled away it was the final straw. I knew it was time to walk away.”
Caroline leaned forward and kissed him. Their kiss was long and tasted of rye whiskey.
“I didn’t want you to walk away,” she said when they parted. “I still don’t.”
Max put his arm around her. “It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll figure it out. You can work from Aspen part of the month, and I’ll visit New York on the weekends.”
“I can’t work from Aspen,” Caroline said without thinking. “I go into the office every day.”
“Everyone works remotely these days. I’m sure your publisher will allow it.” Max shrugged.
Caroline told him that her job was tenuous at the moment. If she didn’t put in extra effort, Claudia would have to let her go.
“Plus, it’s not just being in the office, it’s being in New York,” she explained. “I take agents and authors to lunch almost daily. I couldn’t do that from Aspen.”
“I was only thinking a few days a month,” Max said. He paused and looked at Caroline. “Unless you only want to be in New York.”
Caroline had always been a New Yorker. Going to the cabin to rest and recharge was fine, but working somewhere else part-time was different. New York revived her; she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
“It’s not the right time,” she volunteered. “Maybe during the summer when everyone in publishing goes on vacation.”
“You don’t want to see each other until summer?” Max repeated incredulously.
“We’ll see each other. You said you’d come to New York on the weekends. We can attend author readings and explore restaurants. You’ll love the High Line, there’s the best Italian food and…”
“I prefer Mexican food you get in California or Western burgers.” Max’s tone was clipped. “It’s not about the food or the sightseeing. It’s about having a partner who’s willing to meet halfway. It’s called compromise, it’s the basis of any relationship.”
A knot formed in Caroline’s stomach. Her cheeks grew hot.
“My job is very important to me. You feel the same about the distillery.”
“But I’d work on it. I’d hire a manager who can take over some of my duties while I try to sell rye whiskey in New York. You refuse to even try. Why would you tell me you were falling in love with me if you aren’t willing to try?”
The knot in Caroline’s stomach grew tighter.
“I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.”
“It’s not far ahead. You’re going back to New York in a couple of days.”
Max was right. If their relationship stood a chance, she had to make some changes. She thought about Luke and Daphne. Caroline had told Daphne that a commuter marriage was a lot of work. A long-distance romance would be even worse.
Before she could say anything, Max stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“I think we should stop right now. You were right about yourself. You’re a sophisticated New York editor who jets off to fancy ski resorts at a moment’s notice, and has little flings without thinking about other people’s feelings.” He turned toward his car. “I have to go. Enjoy the cheesesteak hoagie.”
Caroline watched him go. It was freezing, but she was too mortified to go back into the bar. Daphne would know that something was wrong and Caroline wasn’t ready to tell her. Instead, she pulled out her phone and called an Uber. She waited, hugging her arms around her chest and wondering when her breathing would return to normal and the ache in her heart would subside.
When she got back to the inn there was a message from the front desk saying that Claudia called and to call her back immediately.
Caroline wondered what Claudia wanted. She was in Palm Springs for the holidays and it was one hour earlier in California.
She called Claudia’s cell phone and waited for her to pick up.
“I called your cell phone but it was off,” Claudia said when she answered.
“Daphne dragged me to a karaoke bar,” Caroline said.
“I hate to interrupt your holiday but this couldn’t wait.” Claudia kept talking. “It’s been hush-hush until now but the company is in talks to merge with another publisher. I need you to send me a new manuscript within two weeks. We need to show there are exciting forthcoming titles that will be launched for the coming season.”
“In two weeks?” Caroline gulped. At their meeting before Christmas, Claudia said that Caroline had until the end of winter to bring a new author onto her list.
“I need something now, and it’s got to be something everyone gets excited about.”
“I do have something. He’s a local writer. But we’re still editing it.”
“Send it as soon as you can and I’ll read it on the plane. Then we’d still have time to acquire it.”
She and Nick weren’t finished with the edits. And now Savannah was coming to Aspen. But she couldn’t say no to Claudia.
“Of course. No problem. You’ll have it right after New Year’s.”
Caroline hung up and gazed out the window. The mountain was beautiful at night. Stars lit up the slopes, and the moon was a silver ball.
Her mind went to Max, stalking away in the parking lot. She couldn’t think about him now. At 7:00 p.m. she was meeting her mother’s lover in front of Santa’s Little Red Mailbox. The day after that, Daphne and Luke were getting married. And now she had to deliver the best manuscript Claudia ever read. All Caroline had left was her job. Without it, she wouldn’t have anything at all.